One of the reasons why Shaq is awesome is that he doesn't take himself too seriously. That advertisement he did a while back, where he dressed in tights and did "rhythmic gymnastics", was absolutely hilarious.posted by Chocolate Pickle at 1:05 AM on November 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

First David Hasselhoff and then this. Very sad.

Quote me on this:
In the future every famous person will be embarrassed for 15 minutes.posted by quadog at 1:15 AM on November 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

Oh Shaq, baby, no. You need to let your dreams of a music career go. Don't go trying to restart it, just let it be dead. The Fu-Schnickens won't back you up this time. Just let it be.posted by yeloson at 1:39 AM on November 7, 2010

I think he's just having fun without the expectation of any great returns. Kinda reminds me of me singing along to Beyonce in my car, minus the eyeshadow & the dress.posted by Lukenlogs at 1:21 AM on November 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

Oh, and apropos of nothing, due to Daylight Saving Time, the previous comment seems to have happened earlier than the one before it. At least for me.posted by twoleftfeet at 1:56 AM on November 7, 2010

twoleftfeet: Shaq himself tweeted it on The Real Shaq on Oct. 31. You're wasting my time.

Well, if you've seen it before then it definitely shouldn't be posted. I mean, Metafilter is an elaborate system to provide fresh content for you and you alone, right?posted by robcorr at 2:19 AM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Well, if you've seen it before then it definitely shouldn't be posted.

If you don't know it was his Halloween costume and eight days later you think you're seeing some weird cross-dressing aspect of an NBA celebrity for no apparent reason then it should definitely be posted. Right?posted by twoleftfeet at 2:23 AM on November 7, 2010

Well, I enjoyed it. Thanks, shroedinger.

If you know something more about the background to a post, share it in a comment. No need to be a dick about it.posted by robcorr at 2:31 AM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

My 12 year old son now wants to burn his Celtics Shaq jersey.posted by dzaz at 5:00 AM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it, Shaq. Go Celtics.posted by marco_nj at 5:26 AM on November 7, 2010

I have always wished that I would handle fame and fortune well. Classy, in the sense that I never did anything that made people think, "Christ, what an asshole," yet not intimidatingly or unapproachably so. I'd like to think that I would do whatever the hell I wanted (within the above strictures), gleefully enjoying the fact that I was so impossibly lucky that I could do whatever the hell I wanted.

Shaq does this to a T. Sure, he made some god-awful albums and a couple of god-awful movies. But I bet he had fun doing them. I'd even go so far as to say that the other people involved didn't hate working with him, even though I suspect they knew that Kazaam was not going to get them an invite to the Shrine Auditorium next March.

I used to hate him for his success. I have learned to love him for how he's handled it. If everyone who managed to claw their way to fame acted at least a little bit the same way, ours would be a better world in which to live.posted by Etrigan at 5:44 AM on November 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

There was also the day he decided to go pretend to be a statue in Harvard Square.

I can't think of anything involving sports stars that I am more in favor of than cross-dressing. America needs a Superbowl Shuffle Revue, stat.posted by GameDesignerBen at 7:47 AM on November 7, 2010

If you don't know it was his Halloween costume and eight days later you think you're seeing some weird cross-dressing aspect of an NBA celebrity for no apparent reason then it should definitely be posted. Right?

No, it was pretty apparent it was his Halloween costume, and the Googles said as much. I am very sorry for not posting a link from his Official Twitter Video Feed and Official Twitter Video Account to illustrate I was as cool and up on the internet memes as you, twoleftfeet!

This is hilarious. Shaq just moved up to one of my favorite people.posted by P.o.B. at 12:27 PM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

hermitosis: "My 12 year old son now wants to burn his Celtics Shaq jersey.

Why?"

Because he loves Beyonce and thinks Shaq ruined the song. What did ya think?posted by dzaz at 12:41 PM on November 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

hermitosis: "My 12 year old son now wants to burn his Celtics Shaq jersey.

Why?"

Because he loves Beyonce passionately and doesn't think the interpretation does her justice. What did ya think?posted by dzaz at 12:44 PM on November 7, 2010

***that was weird. Sorry.posted by dzaz at 12:44 PM on November 7, 2010

Beyonce makes everyone want to wear a fancy dress and sing along, so that's not so surprising, but the tipping anecdote from that twitter link makes me love Shaq more than I ever could have anticipated.posted by serazin at 1:19 PM on November 7, 2010

There was also the day he decided to go pretend to be a statue in Harvard Square.

“As for his experience at Harvard, O’Neal said that the idea came from seeing the discipline of the Buckingham Palace guards and other military personnel.

‘For me I can always tell my friends I went to Harvard,’ he noted. ‘When I say I went to Harvard, you can take that for how you want to take it. I went to Harvard, I stood at Harvard, and I graduated from Harvard. So now I’m smart.

‘I’ve always liked Boston. The people here have always treated me right. Go to [Legal's Seafood] and get that clam chowder. Go to (an Italian restaurant) for that big spaghetti bowl. I’ve never had problems in Boston, that’s why I can go to Harvard Square by myself for an hour, people just touch me, have someone say they’re my son. Just have a good time.’

Asked how his experience with the Celtics has been compared to other teams he has been with, O’Neal gave the Celts a notable distinction.

‘This is the funnest team I’ve been on in my life,’ O’Neal said. ‘These guys are great. Usually I’m the ring leader of bringing fun to a team, but I haven’t even done anything yet. These guys crack me up. Big Baby and Nate, they need their own TV show. Those guys are funny. Just having certain conversations with all the great players, me and Kevin [Garnett] going back to our LA, Minnesota days. It’s just fun. It’s a close-knit group already. We go to dinner together, movies together, play cards. It’s just a fun group. It’s going to be a fun 735 days for me.’”*

Shaq, Boston is happy and honored that you're here.posted by ericb at 1:31 PM on November 7, 2010

I wouldn't call it a controversy, but did you know the man made four albums, and released a Best Of Shaq compilation after only two albums? But I guess it's not much different from vanity song poems of decades past, except on a larger scale. Fitting, I guess.

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